Three die as Taliban attack second bus in Kabul in a week

KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying Afghan government employees in Kabul on Sunday, killing three people, in the second bus attack in just a week to strike the same area of the capital, a police official said.

Taliban insurgents quickly claimed the attack near the Afghan attorney general's office in the west of the capital.

Violence has continued in Afghanistan since the withdrawal of most foreign forces last year, with civilians frequent victims.

Sunday's bomber attacked a bus carrying workers from the attorney general's office home after work, witnesses and police said.

"As I was crossing the road, there was a huge blast and I saw 10 to 12 people were wounded," said bystander Mahboobullah, who, like many Afghans, uses only one name.

An official at the Ministry of Interior said initial reports indicated that three people had been killed and 10 wounded. He confirmed the bus had been carrying staff from the attorney general's office.

Last Monday, another suicide car bomber targeted a bus in the same area, killing one civilian and wounding 15 people.

The Taliban claimed both attacks. On Sunday, spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the hardline Islamist movement had killed "18 high-ranking hirelings".

The Taliban frequently exaggerate casualties in their attacks and view civil servants as legitimate targets in their battle to topple the U.S.-backed government.